Effective peer interaction in a problem-centred instructional Strategy - M. D. Merrill & C. G. Gilbert (2008) · Learner centred – guided, carefully sequenced progression of problems. Students taught component skills and progress through to solving real-world tasks. · Problem centred – minimal guidance in problem solving. · Peer learning - students teach and learn from each other. Works best when provided with scaffolding, structured questions and evaluation rubrics. · Peer interaction in a problem-centred approach – activation, demonstration and application allows mental models with peer interaction and integration. Requires deeper processing and more careful examination of assumptions. · Peer integration without progression of problems – requires associative memory much like the dissemination of information not linked to the activation of mental models. · Progression of real-world problems – far more effective when peers interact to solve a progression of real-world problems. Allows learners to adapt mental models to new problems and peer critique causes more flexibility and fine-tuning. · Activation principle – learners activate previously acquired schema. · Demonstration principle – learners see the solution of complex tasks through guidance and posed questions. · Application principle – learners apply gained knowledge and skills to solve new complex, ill-structured problems. · Integration principle – constructive peer criticism recommending possible improvements.
Beyond e-learning: approaches and technologies to enhance organizational knowledge, learning and performance.
- M.J. Rosenberg (2006)
· Knowledge management (KM).
· Collaborative side of KM benefits outweigh challenges.
· People learn more from informal exchanges forming communities.
1. Learning spreads throughout the organisation effectively moving knowledge, tips, best practice and feedback.
2. Knowledge remains alive in the organisation and assists in the induction of newcomers.
3. Keeping up with new developments and promotes a dynamic forward-looking community.
4. Helps in the formation of identity with members feeling part of the crucial aspects of learning in organisations.
5. Vertical and horizontal communities both operate in business and other situations. Whilst being part of both learners can share knowledge independent of reporting relationships through professional associations etc.
More communities fail than succeed – people must be motivated to contribute. Ten critical success factors for members to value participation: -
1. Peer Identification
2. Content Value
3. Incentives
4. No Pain
5. Make it special
6. Community Leadership
7. Support from the top
8. No “Big Brother”
9. The Right Environment
10. Tools
Knowledge Networks
· People maintain a knowledge network that they call upon resources to help when they require assistance. The form of networks can vary from: - email lists, IM lists, discussion threads, chatrooms, Web conferencing, Knowledge network building tools and blogs.
Working with Experts and Expertise
· Problems arise finding real experts.
· Help desks and call centres offer expertise to workers and customers.
· Peer to peer collaboration.
· Managers who coach share expertise with teams.
· Software that supports expert identification and interaction.
Managing Expertise
Making experts available to teams often the most difficult challenge. Eight approaches which can improve chances of success: -
1. Reduce the Workload
2. Use the right incentives
3. Rotate your experts
4. Manage the demand
5. Publish expertise
6. Point people to sources of information
7. Knowledge capture techniques
8. Bring in your trainers
Instant messaging (IM)
Has become a dominant learning strategy.
· Text messaging
· Sending links
· Prepared e-mails
· Telephone conversations
Technology in Collaborative learning
· Training programs incorporate new sources of knowledge.
· Peers and experts share knowledge in real-time settings.
· Extend the opportunities to share knowledge long after training sessions.
· Replace the need for some training altogether.
Wikis to support the “collaborative” part of collaborative learning
– J. Larusson & R. Alterman (2009)
Two main questions posed:
Did the students learn?
Does the technology adequately support the students’ collaboration?
The intersubjective space must hold collaboratively learning together like glue. Depending on the problem activity either:
Tightly coupled activities.
Loosely coupled activities.
Four possibilities: - Collaborative, collocated, synchronous or asynchronous.
The paper makes the case that the basic wiki is an ideal framework for different time and place learning environments (asynchronous).
· Document co-editing makes producing collaborative content easy.
· Wikis are plastic: can be formatted to support a range and variety of collaborative learning activities.
· Wikis are malleable and can be adapted to align with the groups’ requirements.
· Student owned and centred workspace (non-hierarchical)
Two factors which make management of the intersubjective space difficult:
Communication
Coordination
The basic wiki can support both by a cognitively engineered structure to simplify communication and coordination. Students have equal access to co-edit and share information.
‘The representational system is composed of media, representational artifacts and content which mediate the functioning of the online collaboration’. (Perry 2003; Garfinkle 1967; Schegloff 1992).
WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor, making use easy and is stored online.
WDP (WikiDesignPlatform) provides a suite of awareness, navigational, communicative and analysis components and scaffolds.
HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), scaffolding design to support student collaboration, which may include, checklists, surveys and prototypes to assist focus and problem solving in collaborative learning.
Transcripts provide a range of theoretical and practical functions:
Teaching on experimental design and methods.
Students’ participation in data collection.
Experience in data collection, participation and reflection in collaborative activities.
Concrete data for exploring and evaluating a theoretical framework.
A source of design problems and for design innovation.
Teaching and practicing various kinds of analysis methods.
A shared repository of data.
A basis for classroom discussion.
Summary The technology is easy to use, co-editing documents and automatic publication is a standard feature of wikis. Students feel they own and control the workspace. Also, the ability to customise, preformat and provide scaffolding for interactions make it a productive framework.
- M. D. Merrill & C. G. Gilbert (2008)
· Learner centred – guided, carefully sequenced progression of problems. Students taught component skills and progress through to solving real-world tasks.
· Problem centred – minimal guidance in problem solving.
· Peer learning - students teach and learn from each other. Works best when provided with scaffolding, structured questions and evaluation rubrics.
· Peer interaction in a problem-centred approach – activation, demonstration and application allows mental models with peer interaction and integration. Requires deeper processing and more careful examination of assumptions.
· Peer integration without progression of problems – requires associative memory much like the dissemination of information not linked to the activation of mental models.
· Progression of real-world problems – far more effective when peers interact to solve a progression of real-world problems. Allows learners to adapt mental models to new problems and peer critique causes more flexibility and fine-tuning.
· Activation principle – learners activate previously acquired schema.
· Demonstration principle – learners see the solution of complex tasks through guidance and posed questions.
· Application principle – learners apply gained knowledge and skills to solve new complex, ill-structured problems.
· Integration principle – constructive peer criticism recommending possible improvements.
Beyond e-learning: approaches and technologies to enhance organizational knowledge, learning and performance.
- M.J. Rosenberg (2006)
· Knowledge management (KM).
· Collaborative side of KM benefits outweigh challenges.
· People learn more from informal exchanges forming communities.
1. Learning spreads throughout the organisation effectively moving knowledge, tips, best practice and feedback.
2. Knowledge remains alive in the organisation and assists in the induction of newcomers.
3. Keeping up with new developments and promotes a dynamic forward-looking community.
4. Helps in the formation of identity with members feeling part of the crucial aspects of learning in organisations.
5. Vertical and horizontal communities both operate in business and other situations. Whilst being part of both learners can share knowledge independent of reporting relationships through professional associations etc.
More communities fail than succeed – people must be motivated to contribute. Ten critical success factors for members to value participation: -
1. Peer Identification
2. Content Value
3. Incentives
4. No Pain
5. Make it special
6. Community Leadership
7. Support from the top
8. No “Big Brother”
9. The Right Environment
10. Tools
Knowledge Networks
· People maintain a knowledge network that they call upon resources to help when they require assistance. The form of networks can vary from: - email lists, IM lists, discussion threads, chatrooms, Web conferencing, Knowledge network building tools and blogs.
Working with Experts and Expertise
· Problems arise finding real experts.
· Help desks and call centres offer expertise to workers and customers.
· Peer to peer collaboration.
· Managers who coach share expertise with teams.
· Software that supports expert identification and interaction.
Managing Expertise
Making experts available to teams often the most difficult challenge. Eight approaches which can improve chances of success: -
1. Reduce the Workload
2. Use the right incentives
3. Rotate your experts
4. Manage the demand
5. Publish expertise
6. Point people to sources of information
7. Knowledge capture techniques
8. Bring in your trainers
Instant messaging (IM)
Has become a dominant learning strategy.
· Text messaging
· Sending links
· Prepared e-mails
· Telephone conversations
Technology in Collaborative learning
· Training programs incorporate new sources of knowledge.
· Peers and experts share knowledge in real-time settings.
· Extend the opportunities to share knowledge long after training sessions.
· Replace the need for some training altogether.
Wikis to support the “collaborative” part of collaborative learning
– J. Larusson & R. Alterman (2009)
Two main questions posed:
Did the students learn?
Does the technology adequately support the students’ collaboration?
The intersubjective space must hold collaboratively learning together like glue. Depending on the problem activity either:
Tightly coupled activities.
Loosely coupled activities.
Four possibilities: - Collaborative, collocated, synchronous or asynchronous.
The paper makes the case that the basic wiki is an ideal framework for different time and place learning environments (asynchronous).
· Document co-editing makes producing collaborative content easy.
· Wikis are plastic: can be formatted to support a range and variety of collaborative learning activities.
· Wikis are malleable and can be adapted to align with the groups’ requirements.
· Student owned and centred workspace (non-hierarchical)
Two factors which make management of the intersubjective space difficult:
Communication
Coordination
The basic wiki can support both by a cognitively engineered structure to simplify communication and coordination. Students have equal access to co-edit and share information.
‘The representational system is composed of media, representational artifacts and content which mediate the functioning of the online collaboration’. (Perry 2003; Garfinkle 1967; Schegloff 1992).
WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor, making use easy and is stored online.
WDP (WikiDesignPlatform) provides a suite of awareness, navigational, communicative and analysis components and scaffolds.
HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), scaffolding design to support student collaboration, which may include, checklists, surveys and prototypes to assist focus and problem solving in collaborative learning.
Transcripts provide a range of theoretical and practical functions:
Teaching on experimental design and methods.
Students’ participation in data collection.
Experience in data collection, participation and reflection in collaborative activities.
Concrete data for exploring and evaluating a theoretical framework.
A source of design problems and for design innovation.
Teaching and practicing various kinds of analysis methods.
A shared repository of data.
A basis for classroom discussion.
Summary The technology is easy to use, co-editing documents and automatic publication is a standard feature of wikis. Students feel they own and control the workspace. Also, the ability to customise, preformat and provide scaffolding for interactions make it a productive framework.